After a long chilly night I was glad to wake up to the sun cutting through the trees. All I could think about was "hot shower". I gathered my toiletries and headed for the public shower. As luck would have it there was no line. This seemed to good to be true. 7 AM  and no line at all. I was feeling pretty good until the meter accepted my 3 quarters and didn't turn on the water. It also failed to give the quarters back when I pressed the coin return. I hate it when that happens!

Once back at camp Lloyd had just crawled out of his tent. He got a good laugh when I told him about the shower fiasco. He couldn't get it to work the night before.  We decided to just break camp and get on with it. Another quick tear down of camp and we were ready to hit the road. We made our was past Crater lake while enjoying several spectacular views as we rode by. We each had a half tank of gas and there was about 90 miles between us and the next fuel station according to my Garmin. We made our way down Hyw 232 crossing the Pumas Desert. The view was breathtaking to say the least. Hyw 138 was nothing short of amazing as it fed us twists, turns and high speed sweeping turns. We made several stops for pictures etc. We rode through some great country side paralleling the Umpqua River the entire 80 miles to Dixonville. Here we finally came upon an older fuel station and store. I wasn't sure where the next chance for gas would be so this was it. We fueled up and I bought a Dr. Pepper for the road. Once on the road it was a brief 6 miles to Roseburg Oregon and Denny's for breakfast. It was already getting warm outside and I could tell for those in these parts of Oregon it was going to be a hot day. We on the other hand, were heading to a much cooler coastal area. I had the Chicken Fried Steak again, Orange juice and coffee. Hey, it works for me!

Once watered and fed we pulled out of Denny's and on the on ramp to I-5. The ride up I-5 was a painless 12 miles to our next turn on to Hyw 138. The terrain has gone from Desert to green forest and back to dry grass lands and farm fields. Any green in this area was due to irrigation. Hyw 138 took us another 24 miles and it was loaded with turns and again we rode paralleled to the Umpqua River most of the way. All I kept thinking as I navigated the turns was that it just doesn't get any better then this. The road conditions were flawless allowing me to confidently take each corner with speed. I can't say that about NF-25 in Washington. At the end of the 24 miles of fun we came to the Hyw 38 junction. Hyw 38 is a 36 mile stretch of road that intersects with US 101 on the Coast. This highway paralleled the Umpqua River as well which made for a nice ride. As we approached the coast I could feel the wind pick up and become cooler. US 101 took us another 12 miles to the edge of the Oregon Dunes National Forest. There was a banner up in the previous town stating it was Dune Fest. I noticed on the way in there were allot of trucks and RV's with ATV's and dirt bikes in tow. I couldn't help but wonder how much fun they were having ripping up the dunes.

Soon we rounded a bend a got our first glimpse of the Ocean. This was a great opportunity to pull over and take some pictures. It felt good to get out of the saddle and stretch. Rich's Seats here I come! The wind was very strong and gusty. It was also a bit on the chilly side. being an X-Boater I have a love for the water specially saltwater. We continued riding US 101 for another 54 miles enjoying every view of the ocean and beaches. We made several stops for photos. One of which was at a lighthouse. We stopped in Newport for lunch and as we ate we started re-thinking our game plan. We originally were going to ride all the way up US 101 into Washington but the side winds were very strong and chilly. Instead of proceeding another 50 miles and then rolling the dice on finding lodging, we decided to take Hyw 18 to Portland and then Iron man it up I-5 to home.  I originally wanted to make this a three day ride anyway. After lunch we did just that. On to hyw 18 for warmer 44.7 miles to I-5 where we fueled up. From here it was 11.7 miles and one wrong turn and we were passing through Portland. The remainder of the trip was 149 miles of I-5 and traffic going 75 mph. We made a few stops as my back side was starting to feel the 509 mile day in the saddle. As we neared Olympia the sun was going down. by time I arrived in Tacoma the sky was a dim shade of pink. I couldn't wait to get the shower I didn't get at the camp ground. Other then that this trip was amazing to say the least! 

 

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Tacoma , Washington  - United States (USA)